Pierre Barbet - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Career

Pierre Barbet’s first two science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

novels, Vers un Avenir Perdu [Towards A Lost Future] (1962) and Babel 3805 (1962) were published by the Rayon Fantastique science fiction series of Hachette

Hachette (publishing)

Hachette Livre, , is a French publisher, the flagship imprint of Lagardère Publishing. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as a bookshop and publishing company. Hachette has its headquarters in the 15th arrondissement of Paris....

and Gallimard.

After the cancellation of that series during 1964, Barbet began writing for the Fleuve Noir company’s Anticipation series during 1966, and became a steady provider of classic "space operas", such as Vikings de l'Espace [Space Vikings] (1969), the tale of the conquest of the galaxy

Galaxy

A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...

by a Viking-like warlord whose planet’s sun is dying.

Barbet was among the first writers to introduce heroic fantasy

Heroic fantasy

Heroic fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy which chronicles the tales of heroes in imaginary lands. Unlike stories of sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy narratives tend to be intricate in plot, often involving many peoples, nations and lands. Grand battles and the fate of the world are common themes,...

to Anticipation as part of his Temporal Investigator Setni series, which started with L'Exilé du Temps [The Exile Of Time] (1969). Setni was a special agent for a Galactic Federation ruled by preserved brains. Barbet followed suit with À Quoi Songent les Psyborgs? [What Do Psyborgs Dream About?] (1971), in which Setni explores a planet where a trio of powerful, disembodied brains have recreated the fantasy legends of Amadis of Gaul for their own entertainment. He continued to use this theme with La Planète Enchantée (1973) and Vénusine (1977), the latter written under the pseudonym Olivier Sprigel. He also wrote an alternate history, L'Empire du Baphomet [The Empire Of Baphomet] (1972), in which an alien attempts to manipulate the Knights Templar

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

to assume control of the world during the Crusades

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

. It was translated later into English as Cosmic Crusaders (1980).

Barbet’s other notable novels included the Napoleons of Eridani trilogy (1970–84), in which a squadron of Napoleonic soldiers kidnapped by aliens conquer a space empire, a theme reminiscent of Poul Anderson

Poul Anderson

Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...

's High Crusade and the author's earlier L'Empire du Baphomet (translated into English as Cosmic Crusaders). His other series included the adventures of the dashing Alex Courville, a hero not unlike Anderson’s Dominic Flandry, and the saga of the Cities in Space (1979–85), reminiscent of James Blish

James Blish

James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...

's renowned series.

Selected bibliography

Vers un Avenir Perdu (Towards A Lost Future) (1962)
Babel 3805 (1962)
Les Limiers de l'Infini (The Trackers Of Infinity) (1966)
Les Cavernicoles de Wolf (The Cavern-Dwellers Of Wolf) (1966)
L'Étoile du Néant (The Void Star) (1967)
Le Secret des Quasars (The Secret Of The Quasars) (1967)
Hallali Cosmique (Cosmic Hunt) (1967)
La Planète des Cristophons (The Planet Of The Christophons) (1968)
Évolution Magnétique (Magnetic Evolution) (1968)
Vikings de l'Espace (Space Vikings) (1969)
Les Chimères de Seginus (The Chimeras Of Seginus) (1969)
L'Exilé du Temps (The Exile Of Time) (1969)
Étoiles en Perdition (Doomed Stars) (1970)
Les Maîtres des Pulsars (The Masters Of The Pulsars) (1970)
Les Grognards d'Éridan (1970); translated as The Napoleons Of Eridanus (1976)
L'Agonie de la Voie Lactée (The Agony Of The Milky Way) (1970)
Les Conquistadores d'Andromède (The Conquistadores Of Andromeda) (1971)
Le Transmetteur de Ganymède (The Ganymede Transmitter) (1971)
Azraec de Virgo (Azraec Of Virgo) (1971)
A Quoi Songent les Psyborgs? (1971); translated as Games Psyborgs Play (1973)
L'Empire du Baphomet (1972); translated as Cosmic Crusaders (1980); translated as Baphomet's meteor (1972)
Les Insurgés de Laucor (The Insurgents Of Laucor) (1972)
La Planète Empoisonnée (The Poisoned Planet) (1972)
Tremplins d'Étoiles (Jumping Point To The Stars) (1972)
Les Disparus du Club Chronos (The Disappearances of the Chronos Club) (As David Maine) (1972)
La Planète Enchantée (1973); translated as The Enchanted Planet (1975)
Liane de Noldaz (1973); translated as The Joan Of Arc Replay (1978)
Les Bioniques d'Atria (The Bionics Of Atria) (1973)
Le Bâtard d'Orion (The Bastard Of Orion) (1973)
L'Univers des Géons (The Universe Of The Geons) (1974)
Magiciens Galactiques (Galactic Magicians) (1974)
Les Mercenaires de Rychna (The Mercenaries Of Rychna) (1974)
Croisade Stellaire (1974); translated as Stellar Crusade (1980)
La Nymphe de l'Espace (The Space Nymph) (1975)
Patrouilleur du Néant (Void Patrol) (1976)
Ambassade Galactique (Galactic Embassy) (1976)
Guérilléro Galactique (Galactic Guerillero) (As David Maine) (1976)
Crépuscule du Futur (Twilight Of The Future) (As Olivier Sprigel) (1976)
Vénusine (As Olivier Sprigel) (1977)
Commandos sur Commande (Commandos To Order) (1978)
Odyssée Galactique (Galactic Odyssey) (1978)
Lendemains Incertains (UncertaIn Futures) (As Olivier Sprigel) (1978)
Trafic Stellaire (Interstellar Trafic) (1979)
Oasis de l'Espace (Space Oasis) (1979)
Périple Galactique (Galactic Journey) (1980)
Le Maréchal Rebelle (The Rebel Marshal) (1980)
Renaissance Planétaire (Planetary Rebirth) (As David Maine) (1980)
Cité des Astéroïdes (City Of The Asteroids) (1981)
Les Psychos de Logir (The Psychos Of Logir) (1981)
Cités Interstellaires (Interstellar Cities) (1982)
Survivants de l'Apocalypse (Survivors Of The Apocalypse) (1982)
Invasion Cosmique (Cosmic Invasion) (As David Maine) (1982)
L'Empereur d'Éridan (1982); translated as The Emperor Of Eridanus (1983)
Les Charognards de Snien (The Carrion-Eaters Of Snien) (1983)
Rome Doit Être Detruite (Rome Must Be Destroyed) (1983)
Les Colons d'Éridan (The Eridani Colonists) (1984)
Carthage Sera Détruite (Carthago Will Be Destroyed) (1984)
Eldorado Stellaire (Interstellar Eldorado) (1985)
Cités Biotiques (Biotic Cities) (1985)
Téléclones (1985)
Putsch Galactique (Galactic Putsch) (1985)
Glaciation Nucléaire (Nuclear Ice Age) (1986)
La Croisade des Assassins (The Assassins' Crusade) (1986)
Temps Changeants (Changing Times) (1986)
Défense Spatiale (Space Defense) (1987)
Captifs de Corvus (Prisoners Of Corvus) (1987)
Un Reich de 1000 Ans (A 1000-Year Reich) (1987)
Objectif: Mars 2005 (Target: Mars 2005) (1987)
Option Zéro (Zero Option) (1988)
Soleil de Mort (Death Sun) (1990)
L'Ere du Spatiopithèque (The Era Of The Spatiopithecus) (1991)

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